New Viruses Blast the Internet

Over the last 6 months, the Internet has been plagued by many extreme virus threats and security holes. Starting with the classic Blaster Worm which is still circulating the Internet, now we are facing some new mass-mailing threats. In this Special Announcement we have included information on these new threats and tips on protecting your system. At myVine.com we are committed to ensuring an enjoyable Internet experience for our valued customers, and want to keep you abreast of events that may affect your Internet connection. We truly appreciate your business.

Currently there are emails being sent out by the Beagle Worm. These emails appear to be coming from an administrator or support staff of our email system. Please do not open these email attachments as they likely contain and will spread the virus. Please read the information below for more details.

New Threats

This month we have seen rapid growth and spreading of two major worms, Netsky and Beagle. These worms are mass-mailer, which means they use an infected system to spread by email. These virus come in many forms, but are basically the same.

Netsky

Netsky is known by Symantec as W32.Netsky@mm. This worm spreads by email and will send to users in your address book or other random Internet users. Netsky will make changes to your computer by editing Window's Registry and modifying many of your system files. The following is a list of characteristics that the Netsky's email will contain.

Symantec has recently upgraded this threat from a Category 3 to a Category 4 out of 5. This is a very serious threat that is quickly moving around the Internet. For more information, visit Symantec Security Response at http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/
w32.netsky.f@mm.html

For removal tools and instructions, visit http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/
w32.netsky@mm.removal.tool.html

Beagle

Beagle is another is another mass-mailing worm known to Symantec as W32.Beagle@mm. There are many variants to this worm, however, as with Netsky, they carry many of the same characteristics. Beagle opens a backdoor on your computer and uses its own email engine to spread. It also sends the attacker information on your computer. It will send email with the following characteristics:

This worm will also spread through popular file sharing software such as Kazaa and iMesh. It will show itself as:

• ACDSee 9.exe
• Adobe Photoshop 9 full.exe
• Ahead Nero 7.exe
• Matrix 3 Revolution English Subtitles.exe
• Microsoft Office 2003 Crack, Working!.exe
• Microsoft Office XP working Crack, Keygen.exe
• Microsoft Windows XP, WinXP Crack, working Keygen.exe
• Opera 8 New!.exe
• Porno pics arhive, xxx.exe
• Porno Screensaver.scr
• Porno, sex, oral, anal cool, awesome!!.exe
• Serials.txt.exe
• WinAmp 5 Pro Keygen Crack Update.exe
• WinAmp 6 New!.exe
• Windown Longhorn Beta Leak.exe
• Windows Sourcecode update.doc.exe
• XXX hardcore images.exe

Currently, Symantec has the Beagle worm ranked as the #1 Security Threat. For more information, visit Symantec Security Response at http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/
w32.beagle.k@mm.html.

For removal tools and instructions, visit http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/
w32.beagle@mm.removal.tool.html

Protect Yourself

It's very easy to keep yourself protected from Virus and Security Threat. Below are a few tools you can use to keep your computer up-to-date and virus free!

• Always be sure you have Real-time Virus Protection installed and enabled on your computer. All of the popular anti-virus products offer real-time scanning. Real-time scanning is the ability for the anti-virus software to continuously scan your system for anything that is coming in or going out. Some popular anti-virus packages include Norton Anti-virus, McAfee VirusScan, PandaSoft's PandaScan, and TrendMicro's PC-Cillin. All of these products have free trial downloads or can be purchased from a local computer store. However, if you believe your system is already infected, downloading the software may not be the best course of action ad the downloaded file could become infected too. In this case, it would be best to buy the software from a computer store.
• Keep your anti-virus software up to date! Many people feel they are protected by simply running their anti-virus software. Every day, new virus emerge on the Internet and anti-virus software makers scramble to keep there software updated to protect your systems. How can the anti-virus scanner know if a file is a virus if the software you are using doesn't even know it exists?!?! Many software packages have automatic updating tools installed. Be sure this feature is enabled to keep your system safe!
• Keep your Windows Operating System up-to-date! Microsoft offers many security patches and updates to keep your system safe from intruders and viruses. Occasionally visit http://www.windowsupdate.com to update your computer. It's a very simple process that can save you time and money in the future.
• Spyware and Adware are other ways which your privacy and computer security can be breached. Although Spyware and Adware generally will not cause damage to your system, some spread like a virus and will spill your personal information all over the Internet. Others are even known to unintentionally carry viruses. There are many new products available such as Spybot - Search & Destroy , Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner, and Webroot Spy Sweeper. Many of these products are available as trial downloads or can be purchased at your local computer store.

These tools are great ways to protect your system. The best ways are simply to be careful of your browsing and email. Below are some ways to protect your system by simply being cautious.

• Email is one of the most popular ways for virus to spread. Be cautious of emails that come from even your best friends. Many viruses scan address books to retrieve email addresses to send to.
• Only open expected attachments. If you were not expecting an email attachment, then do not open it.
• Viruses generally spread through emails with a very generally subject like "RE: This message is for you" or "I haven't heard from you in a while..."
• Use your instinct, if something doesn't seem right with the email, don't open it.
• File sharing software such as Kazaa or iMesh are littered in viruses. Like anything else, be careful on what you download.
• When visiting websites, you don't always have to click "Yes" or "OK" on popup windows. In many cases, users get overwhelmed with popups and begin clicking "OK." This starts dumping software and potentially viruses into their systems. Be sure to read each popup windows carefully.